Several Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE) candidates have been hospitalized following a gas leak. At least eight students from Makande Girls Secondary School in Mombasa were rushed to the hospital after they fainted and lost consciousness from inhaling the reported leaked obnoxious gas.
The candidates were among a total of 90 students sitting for the nationwide exam when the incident occurred.
Reports indicate that five of the eight are currently receiving treatment at Makadara Hospital in Mombasa.
Additionally, police officers have arrived at the scene to control the leak, which is believed to have originated from a nearby filling station.
By the time of publishing, 84 of the candidates who were sitting for their Kiswahili paper at the time of the incident had been allowed to continue with their exams.
Makande girls candidates transferred
This is after Education Directors in the county oversaw their transfer to Makupa Boys School where they are continuing with their tests.
Also Read: KCSE 2024: Another Candidate Dies as 8 Teachers Are Arrested
Mombasa County Chief Fire Officer Ibrahim Mwasafara said that the incident was reported by the area OCPD at around 7.15 am in the morning who alerted them that obnoxious gas had been detected near the institution.
Following the report, the County deployed a multi-agency team comprising of police officers, medics from the St John Ambulance, public health officials and the Energy Petroleum and Regulatory Authority (EPRA) officials at the scene.
“We were all here to make sure what type of gas is on the ai and how we are going to handle it. But the machine has detected that the amount of gas as we speak now has gone low and is no longer poisonous or dangerous to anyone,” he said.
He further said that the area has been cordoned by county officials and officers from the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) to establish the cause of the leak.
Two KCSE candidates confirmed dead
Since the start of the KCSE 2024 theory exams, the country has reported several troubling incidents involving candidates.
Among the most concerning are two deaths that have occurred during the course of the exams this week.
In Mumias East Constituency, Kakamega County, a cloud of grief has fallen over Epanja village in East Wanga Ward and Ebubere Secondary School following the sudden death of 19-year-old KCSE candidate, Calistus Wamboye Oteu.
His family while speaking to the press said that the candidate, and his sibling, who is also sitting for the same national examination, left home in good health on Tuesday morning.
However, the family was soon devastated by the tragic news of the candidate’s unexpected demise which reportedly happened as he awaited to sit his exams.
The deceased’s body was transferred to St. Mary’s Mission Hospital morgue in Mumias, where a post-mortem examination will be conducted to determine the cause of death.
In a separate incident, another male KCSE candidate from Tigania West, Meru County, passed away on Sunday, just hours before the start of the national examinations.
Meru County Commissioner Jacob Ouma confirmed the student’s death, although details about the cause and circumstances remain scarce.
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